Disclaimer: Still don't own it
Mike thanked the man before leaving the shop.
Mona was waiting outside and sitting on the bus stop bench in front, her cane at the young woman's side.
It had been a week since she had been released from the hospital and immediately jumped back into the investigation; going against the advice to take it easy. When she arrived home, her mother and Hanna had helped in the cleaning up of the place; Mike also helped when he came over as well as Mona's staff from her office. Her mother was actually still staying with her; planning to until the case was completed and Tabitha Clark was in jail. As much as Mona wanted to tell the older woman to go home, she knew that her mother wasn't going to listen so she made sure that there were a few people watching the house at all times. There was also a new security system in place with some extra features that were not connected to any network; a safety net against possible intruders.
Currently, the little team were downtown and searching the general area where Irene was able to pinpoint the possible location of A's lair. Doing a general search, Mona and Mike were able to come up with a list of places that had been renovated in the last year; figuring that one of them might be where Dr. Clark was hiding. The list was made up of official construction jobs and Irene was looking up ones that were off the books; promising to send them a list when she was done. The group then split up with one pair working on one side of town with another on the opposite side; planning to meet in the middle. It was already in the afternoon and their search had resulted in nothing so far with Mike and Mona having to go slow because of her injuries. She had to use a cane to get around and was wearing dark glasses to cover the black eye.
"So they had some work done in their basement but nothing that seemed out of the ordinary," informed Mike as he helped Mona up and they headed to the next place on their list. Mike just inspected a small antique store which was owned by an older couple.
"It has to be a larger place with maybe just one person running things. A wouldn't risk having a huge group of people close to where she is holding her victims," stated the NSA Agent as they walked down the sidewalk; occasionally making room for other pedestrians.
"Well according to this list, most of the places we have yet to check out are all small shops and maybe a few restaurants," said the young man as glanced back a few times. Mona supposedly had a team following her for protection though Mike had yet to spot them.
"Which makes me think that A did her work off the books though I fail to see how such a construction job could have gone unnoticed as well as unreported," Mona remarked with some confusion given that any off the books jobs were highly illegal in the city. Any contractor caught could lose his license permanently.
"I've been thinking about that and maybe Tabitha Clark bribed a few people to hide any reports filed against her. We also don't know how much construction work was used," Mike said as he looked around for any new work that could be spotted at first glance; comparing it with the list he had.
"Given that Jonathan Myers was a dirty cop and probably knew of a few more still with the police, it's a possibility. There also had to have been a lot of work done since if we are right, A has the same style of Dollhouse Charles did back in the bunker; thus having rooms completely set up to mimic the six of us," countered the young woman as she grabbed the tablet out of her purse to see if her search program was done or if Irene had sent her a new list.
The NSA Agent had created a program to search for large deliveries to this area of the city containing items that the girls would have had back then in their own rooms. If Tabitha Clark was a stickler for the authentic as Charles was with his Dollhouse, then that meant that the psychiatrist would order everything she needed off the internet given that a large number of things were no longer available in stores. It was unfortunate that Ezra and Aria's book had been so detailed on how Charles had mimicked their rooms back in the day since Dr. Clark visiting Rosewood could have done them a favor; though her mother had mentioned that the house had been broke into a while ago. This told Mona that there was probably a room in the Dollhouse just like hers back in the day.
So far, any searches for large shipments of older room furnishings had come up empty; especially for this area. Mona knew though that Tabitha was smart and would never have such large orders come to one location; especially to her own lair. So the young woman decided to expand her search for specific items that she knew that was needed to mimic the girl's rooms; seeing if they were gathered in large quantities in specific spots. She also created a search program to track clothing shipments; focusing on what Aria and Emily wore back when they had still been teenagers since they had had been a little more unique. That had yield some results which was being handled by some of her people back at the Agency. While some companies would cause some problems with the FBI and the State Police, they would be hesitant to cross the NSA.
Hopefully something would turn up soon since everyday warranted the risk of someone being grabbed or a new body being displayed.
There had been one more A message that had been sent to them just a day ago; taunting them about Mona's injuries. Instead of seeing it as harassment, the team had used it to further solidify that Tabitha Clark's base of operations was indeed within the city; though it could not be tracked to a specific location. They did however find a few of A's private cell towers; found on older apartment buildings roofs using older television antennas. Instead of removing them, they team had marked them and had placed the locations under surveillance in case Dr. Clark decided to pay them a visit. They doubted that she would do this and would probably pay someone to do it for her; which would work as well. If they managed to nap someone on the payroll, hopefully he or she could lead them to their intended target or a general area close to their search pattern. All they needed was one slipup; which even the smartest of people did on occasion.
"Well Toby contacted Philadelphia's IAB to see if any of Myer's buddies in the police are corrupt; though nothing had yet come up. We might have to consider the possibility that A might have hired out a few of the gangs to watch her back once we find the location; which they might warn her and she'll run," warned Mike as they walked into the next place on the list; a small ice cream shop that sold organic. Mona had compiled their list so that they could hit all their intended targets along a specific path.
"I've considered that possibility too; that she'll run now that we know where she is operating. But like myself and Charles back then, she is just as arrogant and particular; which I really do believe could play in our favor," stated Mona as she looked up at the menu while Mike went to talk to the owner.
The place seemed to be a family operated business manned by a brother and sister; Mona considered ordering something since she was feeling a desire for something sweet and it had been a while since she had last had some ice cream. It wasn't a large place with a single counter facing the front door that had a glass display showing over thirty flavors of ice cream; waffle cups and cones on top as well as various condiments. The floor was a red brick tiles, the walls were a lime green, and the overhead lights were built into the ceiling themselves. There were a few wooden tables inside with more on the outside for customers. It had a familiar feel that reminded her of the various ice cream parlors back in Rosewood and Brookhaven.
"So we might have a lead; the owners think they witnessed some activity happen across the street at that old office building a few months ago. They had been doing some nightly inventory for a few times during the week and noticed a lot of heavy construction going on in the middle of the night. I checked our list and there is nothing on file for that specific location," informed the young man as he pointed at the old brick building. Though they were still inside, Mona could see it quite well through the shop's large glass window.
"Do you still like the same ice cream?" Mona asked casually, looking up at the menu and pulling out her purse.
"Uhh….yes but didn't you hear what I said? I think we should check it out," suggested the young man, confused about Mona's sudden behavior. She ignored him though and ordered two cups of ice cream; giving him a look to stay where he was.
"Let's go outside and eat it at the table," ordered the NSA Agent when the shopkeeper handed them their ice cream; which were in waffle shaped bowels supported by small paper plates. Mike, still highly confused, nodded and simply followed her outside; taking a seat at one of the tables that faced the building across the street.
"Act casually; we're being watched so don't look at the place," Mona commanded, pulling out her blue tooth and putting it on her ear. She also pulled a device out of her purse and activated it once it was placed on the table.
"By who?" inquired the young officer as she simply ate his ice cream while trying to look like he was taking a break. He really wanted to look around and spot who was watching them; but that would tip them off.
"A couple of gang members; noticed them as lookouts when we entered the ice cream shop. They are watching us a little too closely and are surrounding the building. I think you were right about Dr. Clark paying off gangs in the area; telling them all about us. I've just texted Toby and Spencer to meet us here but warned them as well," informed the young woman as she ate her peppermint ice cream with one hand and texted using her tablet with her other. She also contacted Irene and the team guarding them as well.
"What do we do? Should I call for backup?" asked Mike, reaching for his phone; which Mona shook her head to and motioned for him to put his phone away. He then went back to eating his peanut butter flavored ice cream; actually enjoying it despite the tense feeling he was having presently.
It was about twenty minutes before Toby and Spencer showed up; going inside to order before taking their seats at the table.
"Is that it?" Spencer inquired, motioning to the building subtly while eating her pumpkin flavored ice cream which she got in a cone. Toby got the same flavor as Mike but was in a cone like his girlfriend's.
"Yep; try not to pay too close attention though since we are definitely being watched. My team says that besides the lookouts, there are a few cameras on us as well," informed the NSA Agent in between mouthfuls. She was taking her time and was glad that she ordered a double scoop of the stuff; though she wished she had put a few cherries on top.
"We should cover our mouths then since they might be able to hear us," suggested Toby and Mona shook her head, smiling and pointing to the small device on the table.
"No need; this device is designed to mess with surveillance camera's audio and the lookouts are too far away so we don't have to worry about being heard at all," Mona told the group as she smirked; reminding them that she was the genius of the assembled.
"Well given the amount of security the place has; it probably is A's Lair. The question is though, do we storm the place now by calling in backup or wait so that we are completely sure?" inquired the FBI Agent as she mused the thought out loud. Even with Mona's device in play, she still kept her voice low and acted casually as she could.
"I say we go in now; there are still two abductees that she has and we need to save them before they are murdered and displayed," Mike stated firmly, giving his opinion on the topic.
"If it's the location, then we should immediately. But if we are wrong and it's some drug den or gang hideout, we show our hand. A may not yet know we are aware of her network and that we tracked it to this area. She could think that we are just being thorough because of police procedure. If we do go in and we are wrong, she will find out what we do know and use it against us; even going to the media to embarrass us," Toby warned as he ate and pulled out his phone to check his messages; trying to act as if nothing was up.
"But she could be in there right now; this could be our moment to catch A and end this whole game of hers," argued the young man, showing some obvious frustration. He was starting to get impatient since he wanted to end this once and for all.
"I agree; but we also have a hostage situation as well. If A gets tipped off by the sirens or her lookouts then she might just kill them and run. We know next to nothing about that building; other than it has been renovated. If it is her lair, it will definitely have some nasty surprises waiting for us like all A lairs," the FBI Agent countered, recalling her own past experiences with the locations.
"My Lair didn't have any surprises; I am not sure what you are talking about," Mona stated, both confused and slightly offended. When one got down to it, her lair was pretty clean cut.
"Your lair had pictures of Alison everywhere and I seem to recall that you hit me over the head when we were first in it," Spencer reminded the other woman with a slight glare. She had been tempted to also remind Mona that she tried to throw her off a cliff as well; but that was well in the past.
"My lair was simple and crazy; which I will admit though my primary motivation was simple revenge. Charles's lair was on a whole other level and I am willing to bet that Tabitha Clark's is as well. I do agree though that we need to hold off until we have more information. Irene is digging for us and my people are placing the building under their own surveillance. I might also be able to hack into A's system now that I have a possible location for it," informed Mona as she was using her free hand to set everything up with her people. In the time they had been discussing on what to do, the NSA had identified where all the lookouts were as well as the locations of all the surveillance cameras around the building.
"Well when you put it like that; I understand. If the abductees are in there, we might be in position to catch Tabitha removing the bodies if we are too late. We could also watch who enters and leaves the place so we can catch her outside of the place; maybe even rescuing her victims while she is away," the younger man proposed which earned agreeing nods of approval from his partner and Mona while Spencer suddenly smiled; an idea coming to her head.
"Or maybe we can set a trap; lure Tabitha Clark away and make her show herself. We could even set her up and track her back to this place in case she dodges us because of some hidden entrance we do not yet know about," Spencer mused out loud as a possible idea. The other three looked at one another and thought about the idea.
"That could work; but what should we bait her with?" Toby inquired, not sure what to think about the plan since it had a lot of variables to it. Given that he knew Spencer like the back of his hand, he had a suspicion on what she was about to propose and suspected that he wasn't going to like it.
"Myself; we claim we found the person she planned to replicate as me while I am now alone. I could even taunt her as well and make myself a deliberate target. She then grabs me and you guys track her all the way back here," answered the FBI Agent as she leaned back and was rather impressed with the idea. This earned a surprised look from Mike, a thoughtful one from Mona, and an alarmed one from her boyfriend.
"No; you are not doing it and I won't let you. We are not going to risk anyone's life by baiting a complete psychopath. There has to be another way," said Toby as he simply dismissed the idea. It wasn't until after he said the words that he realized his mistake by telling his girlfriend what to do.
Mona and Mike sighed since this was going to be one annoying argument.
Please Read and Review; also a special thanks to my friend Paraddicted for the pre-read!